


The Stripper and the Communist War-Leader

by orphan_account



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Bottom tord, Eventual Smut, I'm not sure I guess I'll add tags as I go?, Implied abuse, It's a cute little Mattsworld AU story, Listen. I can do what I want, M/M, Mattsworld, Smut, Soft Sexual Boiz, Stripper, The Abuse Isn't Between Them Don't Worry, Top Tom, pornstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:28:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22047931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: They needed the money to pay rent and eat, so what did Tord do? That's right, kids! He became a stripper! Maybe he bit off a little more than he could chew, but that was alright as long as he was bringing home their living expenses. However, when his perverted brit of a roommate decides one night to head out to the nearest strip club, what will that mean for him in a household that thinks he works at a Starbucks?So basically, this is a Mattsworld AU version where Mattsworld Tord is a stripper and Tom is secretly running the Blue Army, so secret boiz. Is this just a shitty thing I'm making on a whim? Absolutely.
Relationships: Tom/Tord (Eddsworld)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	1. Falling For Him Already?

Tom pushed past a group of drunken men, getting to the front of the stage. There were certainly a lot more people than normal at the strip club that night. His lip twitched when he heard someone "whoo-ing" directly next to him. It took everything he had to not turn around and deck the guy. Instead, he just sighed as he leaned against the stage. A dancer was twirling around on a pole center stage, but Tom wasn't all too interested. That left him wondering why he even came in the first place. He was feeling lonely and horny, he supposed, but he was starting to think this wasn't the best option.

The dancer in front of Tom finished up and went back behind the curtain before all the lights dimmed. His head perked up as he heard an announcer over the speakers. "And now, for the moment you leeches have been waiting for! Welcome to the stage our featured dancer of the night: our very own Scarlet Vixen!" the man announced. Tom watched the curtain with a slight curiosity as a spotlight shone against it. A song he recognized to be "But It's Better If You Do" began to play. What happened next though, made him choke on air.

Sauntering out from behind the curtain, dressed in a skimpy red outfit that covered hardly anything, was Tom's roommate: Tord. This had to be some sort of joke, right? This whole thing was just a practical joke they set up. But when Tord lifted himself off the ground, Tom realized this was no joke. The way Tord moved so elegantly and skillfully, anyone could tell he's well-practiced. He danced with his eyes closed, confident in every move he made. Tom stood there in shock, his face tinted light pink. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion after the initial surprise. "Tord???" he blurted out.

The aforementioned man's eyes snapped open with an involuntary gasp. They both locked eyes as all color drained from Tord's face. They stayed locked in their staring contest for a moment before Tord's grip on the pole loosened. His eyes closed as he fainted, falling off the stage in Tom's direction. Before he could even process everything, Tom caught him in his arms. He blinked a few times, feeling a sudden rush of frustration towards the man in his arms. He scooped up his legs, picking him up completely before walking out of the club. A bouncer tried to stop him, but he just snarled and told him, "He's my dumbass roommate." The guy backed off, still apprehensive, but that didn't matter. Tom was going to take Tord back home.

It wasn't long before Tord started to stir, shifting around and murmuring. He jolted alive though, as soon as he realized what was going on. "Put me down, you communist bastard!" he shouted at him, trying to push out of Tom's grasp. Unfortunately for Tord though, he was the weaker of the two.

"Why? So you can go get catcalled by a bunch of losers?"

"So I can go back to my job, asshole!" Tord began beating at Tom's chest as hard as he could, but his grip didn't let up.

"I thought you said you work at Starbucks!"

"Well, what was I supposed to say?! 'Hey guys, I'm a male stripper!' Just put me down! I need to go back!" he screamed louder this time, but his punches started to slow and got weaker.

"No, Tord."

"Please..." he said softly, no longer getting violent. "My boss will be really fucking mad at me." He sounded dejected and helpless, making me almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

"... Do Matt and Edd know about your job?" He tensed up.

"You can't tell them. They'd never look at me the same. Do you know what that's like?" he asked in a panicked tone. Tom kept quiet for a moment as he tried to reflect on if he'd ever experienced anything like that.

"I can imagine," he concluded before sighing. "Fine. I'll keep your little secret." Tord let out an audible sigh of relief, but he was starting to shiver.

"Thank you, Tom. You can put me down though. Promise I won't run?" he said sheepishly. Tom rolled his eyes and set him down. However, he also took his hoodie off, which confused the smaller man.

"With how you're dressed, you're going to end up with frostbite. If you came home as a stripper popsicle, Matt would kill me." He shoved his hoodie onto Tord, who was giggling slightly. The tension around them eased up, but it was still awkward. They kept walking as an uncomfortable silence settled over them. The only sounds that could be heard on the street were the distant rumbling of cars and the clicking of Tord's heels. As they approached the house, Tom finally broke the silence. "Come on," he said, grabbing the other's hand and pulling him around the side of the house. His heart rate picked up slightly. From what specifically? He wasn't sure. As they got to Tord's bedroom window, though, Tom dropped his hand.

"It's locked. How are you planning on getting it open?"

"Like this," Tom said as he pulled out a knife. He slid it up along the side frame, making the latch unlock. "You should get a better lock."

"Why the fuck do you have a knife?" Tord questioned, a bit scared.

"Because you can't bring guns into the strip club," Tom stated as if it were obvious as he climbed through the window.

"What?!"

"Shh," he shushed Tord, pulling him into the room.

"You're insane," Tord whispered.

"I know," Tom retorted with a smirk before walking out of the room. Tord huffed before pulling his window closed and relatching it before going over and closing his door. After he locked it, though, his face turned bright red. Tom knew what he did. What did he think of him now? He probably thought he was disgusting. Tord went to cover his eyes with his hands, but that's when he realized he was still wearing Tom's hoodie. He let out a groan, hitting his forehead against the door.

Soon enough though, he took Tom's hoodie off and changed into his normal outfit. He folded Tom's hoodie neatly before heading out and down the hall to return the hoodie. He took a deep breath before opening the door. "You ever knock?" Tom asked without looking up from his hentai. He was sat on his bed, leaning against the backboard. Tord rolled his eyes.

"At least if I caught you jacking off, we'd be almost even," he countered as he set the hoodie down on the bed. "I- um... Thank you. For keeping my secret, I mean," Tord said awkwardly, fumbling with one of his hoodie drawstrings. Tom looked up slightly and saw the pink hue Tord's face was. He gave a slight smirk.

"You know for someone who claims to be religious, you looked downright sinful up there," he said in a chiding tone. Tord's face lit up even more as his eyes narrowed. But his expression eased into one of neediness as he got an idea. He put his hand on the bed, sitting down on it and pulling his legs up. He slid his hand onto Tom's thigh, whose breath was suddenly caught in his throat.

"Glad you noticed, baby. Does that mean you want to see it all up close?" Tord said, acting like he was turned on as he moved his hands up to hold Tom's face which was now dusted pink.

"U-uh... I..." Tom tried, but words wouldn't come to him. Tord smiled smugly and gave Tom's face two pats.

"That's what I thought." With that, Tord got up and left the room, leaving Tom flustered and marveling at just how powerful Tord's actions had been. Damn, he was good.

Meanwhile, as soon as Tord was back in his room, he flopped down on his bed and grabbed a pillow, screaming into it and kicking his feet. He kept throwing his fit of embarrassment until he heard a voice from his doorway. "Uh... you alright there, friend?" Matt, the currently tired leader of the group, asked in a very concerned voice. Tord shot straight up, jumping like a cat being attacked by a cucumber.

"Yes! Yeah, of course why wouldn't I be never been better I think I need to be alone okay? Okay thanks, bye!" Tord rambled quickly as he walked to the door and closed it in Matt's face. The ginger man stood there confused for a second before deciding he was too tired to deal with it and heading to bed. Alone in his room, Tord let out a groan. Everything felt uncomfortably different and he hated it. At least one thing wouldn't change: he'd be drinking himself to sleep.


	2. The Aftermath is Never as Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's favorite red stripper deals with the consequences of his AND Tom's actions. ;)

Tord let out a slight gasp as Tom(who was missing a shirt) pinned him to his bed. He began softly whispering things into Tord's ear that he couldn't quite make out over the sound of his own heart beat. Tom started to rub up against him to create friction. Tord let out a moan, but was silenced with a passionate kiss.

Tord flipped them to where he was on top, giving Tom a soft smile and receiving one in return. "Raaaawr. I'm a top," he laughed, getting a small chuckle from Tom. The topless man cupped his partner's cheek, looking at him lovingly.

"You're hella cute for a top," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"No I'm not! I'm super intimidating and I'm totally gonna fuck you!" Tord huffed. Tom laughed rolling them over again.

Tord woke up with a faint smile on his face before he realized what had happened. "Dammit. Not again…" he groaned. He held his head, his night of being a sad alcoholic not treating him right. Grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around himself, Tord got up and left to the kitchen. 

The microwave said it was 7:13. Too early. He flopped down onto the table and curled up into a blanket ball on top of it. Getting up was a mistake. Drinking was a mistake. Stripping was a mistake.

The front door opened and soon Tord felt a poke through the blanket. "Hey," he heard Tom's voice say. "you alright there?"

"What does it look like?" he asked tiredly. He poked his head out of the blanket. "Where are you coming back from?"

"A little place called none of your business," he sneered. "Are you hung over?"

"None of your business," Tord mocked, going back under the blanket. Tord heard a sigh and some footsteps, but soon enough it sounded like something was being placed on the table. When Tord peeked out, he saw a glass of water and a bottle of painkillers. He looked up at Tom who just went to get his cereal like he didn't do anything for Tord. "... Thanks…" Tord said before taking a few of the pills.

"Yeah, whatever," Tom mumbled before heading back to the table with cereal in hand. Dark circles outlined his eyes, making it obvious that he had little to no sleep last night. He cleared his throat as he stood in front of Tord. Tord blinked a few times.

"... Oh! Right," he said, getting off the table. Tom chuckled and sat down. Deciding he wanted some cereal too, Tord dropped his blanket and went to grab the box. As he did, though, his hoodie slid up a bit to reveal a tattoo on his lower back. Tom choked when he caught sight of it.

"Is that a fucking tramp stamp?!" Tom exclaimed, trying to keep quiet since it was still early. Tord looked back at him, confused for a second before realizing what he was referring to.

"Oh! This?" He asked, pointing to the tattoo. He laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry, it's a temporary one from a shoo- uh, from the, um, dollar store as a joke." Tom narrowed his eyes, realizing Tord was hiding even more than he first thought. What was he really going to say? A shoot?

"Really? A joke with who?" Tom questioned with an eyebrow raise, intent to catch Tord in his lie. The other man froze a bit.

"... Someone. You don't know him," Tord explained, though his voice didn't sound too confident. Even though it was obviously a lie, Tom furrowed his eyebrows.

"Try me. You'd be surprised how many people I know," he said, putting down his spoon to cross his arms.

"Look, why does it even matter?" Tord asked, setting his bowl of cereal down and sitting in the seat across from Tom. "It's literally just a temporary tattoo. And why were you looking in that area anyway, you pervert?" Tom immediately blushed, not prepared for that.

"Hey! Don't you fucking change the subject!" he said, getting defensive.

"What? Wasn't ready to get called out?" Tord said in a mocking tone as he smirked. He took a bite of his cereal. "You wouldn't be that bothered by it if it didn't have basis, Tommy dear." He blushed more and his nose scrunched up. He didn't like that Tord knew how to push all his buttons.

"Like you're not used to people staring at your ass anyway."

"At least I get paid for it, dumbass. Bite me."

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"What's happening?" a tired third voice joined in. Tom and Tord both jumped, being startled by the brunette's sudden appearance.

"Nothing, Edd! Say, I think I saw some, uh, baby seals in the front yard looking for you," Tom said before scolding himself internally for giving such a terrible lie. Edd sighed.

"Not again," he whined before turning and leaving the room. The two men at the table immediately went back to glaring at each other.

"What are you hiding?" Tom interrogated.

"Another tattoo on my ass. Why, you wanna see it?" Tord said sarcastically.

"What were you going to say? From a shoot?" Tord's body visibly jolted, even if only slightly.

"N-no!" Tom had Tord exactly where he wanted him.

"You know I'm going to find out eventually. Might as well just tell me and save you the trouble."

"Yeah, fat chance."

"So you admit you're hiding something?" Tom smirked. Edd walked back in the room right as Tord stood up, slamming his hands down on the table.

"I didn't see the- hey, what's going on?" Edd asked, head slightly tilted.

"I'm leaving," Tord hissed before grabbing his blanket and storming back to his room. On his way, he ran into Matt who stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"What happened?" he asked in a 'what now?' tone.

"Tom," Tord growled. He ripped his arm away and shut himself in his room. Matt sighed before walking out into the kitchen.

"Tom. What did you do?" Matt asked, arms crossed.

"I really don't know what you're on about," Tom said with a mouth full of cereal.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't. That's why Tord looked so upset."

"You need to stop babying them, Matt. Tord and Edd are grown ass men. They can take care of themselves."

"I'm just gonna…" Edd said as he slowly backed out of the room.

"That's not what this is about, Thomas!" Matt yelled. Tom flinched slightly at the use of 'Thomas'. "You obviously did something to make Tord that mad. Now, you're going to go apologize to Tord, or you can say goodbye to your anime girls." Tom groaned and stood up.

"You're an ass," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Matt asked.

"Nothing!" Tom said quickly before walking into the hall. He grumbled about taking orders from Matt as he walked up to Tord's door. He peeked into the room to see Tord curled up on his bed, pulling at his hair.

"Tord-"

"Fuck off," Tord cut him off, flipping him off as well. Tom just stepped into the room fully.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to pry."

"Yes you did."

"Yes I did," Tom admitted. "But I shouldn't have. You deserve privacy, and if you wanted to tell me, you would have. It's 100% my bad." He rubbed the back of his neck, actually feeling a bit guilty. Tord sat up, but didn't turn to look at him.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you say that," Tord said in a monotonous voice. "Matt told you to, didn't he?"

"What? No, no- Well, I mean, he told me to apologize, but it's not like he told me what to say or anything," Tom panicked slightly, making Tord laugh a little.

"You're a dumbass, you know that?" When he turned to look at Tom, he could tell Tord had been crying by the flushness of his face and the shine on his cheeks.

"Did I… make you cry?" Tom asked, his heart immediately sinking more. He didn't know why it bothered him so much. He was supposed to be the strong one that didn't give a shit who he hurt. Tord's eyes widened slightly.

"No, no, no! I just cry when I'm really angry and, well, I guess that means you did, but I'm fine!" he blurted in a panic, standing up.

"... That's pussy shit," Tom deadpanned. Tord's face immediately scrunched before he punched Tom's arm. Tom just laughed.

"You're in here to apologize, not make me even more mad, dumbass!"

"Or am I? I kinda like the idea of making you cry," Tom joked.

"Well, there's better ways to do that! Like, happiness, relief, and pain, and stuff!" Tom raised his eyebrow.

"Did you just list pain as a good way?" Tord blushed a light pink and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh- I mean… better? Way???"

"You're a fucking masochist, aren't you? How am I not surprised?"

"Hey! I never said that!"

"No, but you sure made it obvious." Tom smirked.

"Just shut up!" Tord shouted.

"Hey," Tom said softly as he put a finger under Tord's chin. "There's nothing wrong with getting turned on by pain, love." Tord turned his face away, which got hotter. He crossed his arms. "You're so red," Tom said in a bemused tone.

"Just shut-! Ugh!" He turned away from Tom.

"If it makes you feel better, I mean, I'm sadistic," Tom offered.

"Yeah. We all figured that out a loooong time ago. And that's WAY more than I need to know."

"Wait, what? How?" Tom asked, referring to how they knew he was sadistic.

"Well, it's obvious! You have that personality type, you're pretty violent, and I've seen you smirk when you accidentally hurt people. Also, you just said you like the idea of making me cry."

"Listen, I can't be held accountable for the things I do." Tom shrugged. Tord narrowed his eyes at him.

"And why's that?"

"Because I'm amazing," he joked with a smirk.

"God, you're starting to sound like Edd but 1000 times worse," Tord laughed. Tom rolled his eyes, which could of course not be seen.

"I should probably get going," Tom said as he turned to leave.

"Wait," Tord blurted before he could stop himself. Tom looked back at him.

"Hm?"

"Do you want to maybe want to watch the new IZPFH movie right now? I got it, but I don't really want to watch it alone." In reality, Tord just didn't want to be alone right now in general. Anxious thoughts were starting to claw at his mind. Mostly, he was worried about what his boss might do when he gets back to work. Tom, though, didn't really catch on to that.

"Yeah, alright. I don't really have anything better to do." Tom turned around and plopped down onto the bed. To get comfortable, he leaned his back against the wall. Letting out a relieved sigh, Tord started up the movie on his TV and sat down next to him.

Overall, it was a pretty cheesy action horror movie, just as expected. At about the middle, though, Tom started dozing off. He kept trying to shake himself awake, but ultimately couldn't keep his eyes open for more than 30 seconds and Tord noticed this. "Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked. Tom shook his head tiredly. "What were you even doing?"

"Shut up," Tom mumbled. Tord rolled his eyes before he gently guided Tom down to lay on his back. He pulled the blanket over him.

"I don't mind if you sleep in here. I'm gonna keep watching the movie though." Tom nodded his head, his eyes already closed. Very quickly, he was asleep as Tord just kept watching the movie.

Tom groaned and rolled over as he started to wake. It wasn't long, though, before he opened his eyes and looked around to find Tord was nowhere in sight. The movie was already over. Tom sat up and looked around to try and figure out where Tord had gone, which he quickly put together. The window was cracked open when it wasn't before and the sun had gone down, meaning Tord most likely headed back to work. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

On that train of thought, however, his mind began moving back to whatever Tord was hiding. As he thought more, he wondered if he meant a shoot as in a photo shoot… or maybe a film shoot. A laptop sitting on Tord's dresser caught his eye. He could technically look him up just to see what comes up... No, not yet. Besides, Tord could come back at any minute, and he'd be pissed if he found Tom on his laptop. Instead, Tom stood up and closed the window, not realizing that it relatched itself. He left and headed back to his room.

An hour or so passed and Tom was tinkering with something at his desk when he heard a weak tap on his window. On alert, he cautiously made his way over to it and peeked past the curtains. Tom let out a sigh of relief when he saw Tord's silhouette. He quickly unlatched and opened his window. Tord climbed through and Tom could see that he was wearing his red hoodie over one of his work outfits. However, his face was hidden in the shadows of his hair as he was looking at the floor. "Why didn't you use your window?" Tom asked.

"Locked," Tord mumbled back. He started to walk past, but when he did, Tom spotted a large purple mark on his leg right below his shorts.

"Tord," Tom started as he gripped the man's upper arm. Tord yelped in pain. Tom was surprised, as he wasn't rough at all… but then he started to connect the dots. "Look at me," he said sternly. Tord shook his head. "Look at me. Please," he tried again. They both stood there in silence for a moment before Tord looked up at Tom with tears in his eyes. He had a black eye forming with other bruises and cuts all over his face. His hoodie covered his chest and arms, but if Tom had to guess, he'd say the marks continued there. His expression softened. "Who did this to you?" Tom questioned in a tone so gentle it seemed out of character.

"I-I don't-," Tord struggled to get any words out as he started shaking.

"Hey," Tom wrapped his arms around Tord in an attempt to calm him down. "You're okay. You're safe now." Tord threw his arms around him as he broke down, sobbing into his blue hoodie. Tom was gonna kill a bitch, but for now he had to calm Tord down enough so he could actually say who hurt him. Anger was starting to boil inside him, but the smaller man in his arms kept it at bay. He sat them down on his bed to hopefully make Tord feel more comfortable. Tom stroked his hair, letting him get it all out. He continued whispering reassurances that bit by bit seemed to help. Eventually, Tord had calmed down to the point where it was just sniffles and the occasional hiccup. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said in a broken voice as he nodded slightly. It was a little bit hard emotionally for Tom to hear.

"That's good. Do you think you can tell me who did this?" Tom asked gently as he leaned his head down to look at Tord directly. He stayed quiet. "No one's going to hurt you if you tell me. I promise it stays between you and me." Tord nodded slightly, considering it. He relented.

"... It… It was my boss." Looks like Tom knew who was dying. "He was mad about me disappearing when I was supposed to be performing. I tried to explain to him, b-but…" Tord started choking up and shaking again. Tom held him a bit tighter, which calmed him back down.

"He beat you?" Tord nodded as he hid his face in Tom's hoodie. Despite the intense anger welling up in Tom, he kept his voice steady and soothing. "This boss… he's the owner of the club?" Tord nodded again.

"W-why?" Tord asked cautiously.

"I was just wanting to know who he was. That's all." Tord looked up at him with wide eyes-- well, as wide as one of his eyes could get with the swelling.

"Please don't confront him!" Tord pleaded, "I don't want him to hurt you!" Tom couldn't help but crack a slight smile at this. He knew someone who would stoop so low couldn't lay a finger on him if he tried. But... it was kind of cute seeing Tord worry like that.

"Don't worry, Tord. I'm not planning on messing anything up." In his mind, of course that was true even if only because he knew he'd only be fixing things for so many people if this dick were 6 feet under. 

Tord sighed in relief and rested his head back on Tom's chest. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but being held was actually really nice. It was extremely comforting, especially after what had happened. He had always thought of Tom as being cold, and his hands were, but the rest of him gave off a comfortable warmth that Tord embarrassingly wished he could stay in forever. "Good."

"When did you start caring so much about me?" Tom chuckled. Tord reburied his face, which had started to turn red.

"Shh," Tord shushed him. "Shhhut up." Tom laughed a bit more.

"Fine, fine. You should go get changed and cleaned up," he suggested. Tord didn't move, however. The man in blue sighed. "... Do you want to watch another movie with me when you're done?" Tom hoped this would be motivation enough, which it happened to be. Tord thought for a moment before reluctantly letting go and standing up.

"I'll… I'll be back, then," he said as he gave a halfhearted smile. He turned and left the room, leaving Tom with his currently resurfacing anger. He stood up, walking over to his door to quietly close it. He stared at the door for a moment, trying to keep calm. However, his breathing started to get heavier as he clenched his fist. "How… fucking… dare he," Tom muttered to himself. He reached for the little device on his desk that he'd been working on. He wasn't sure what it was going to be, but it didn't matter now. He threw it hard as he could against the wall, making it break apart into a million little pieces. The bits fell to the floor.

Tom took a moment, running his hands through his hair as he tried to breathe and calm down. Freaking out wasn't helping anyone. He soon heard a quiet knock at his door. "Tom…? Are you okay?" Tord's concerned voice could be heard through the door. Tom sighed.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm great. Something I was tinkering with just fell. Are you done already?" Tom opened his door to see Tord in pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt. The man smiled slightly and nodded in response. All of the communist's anger fell away as he smiled back. "Well, then, let's watch a movie."


	3. Someone Fucking Dies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the title is accurate. No clever word play here.

Tord's expression was completely blank as he stared at the TV screen. The two sat roughly 3 feet apart, and not a word was spoken ever since the movie started. It wasn't really awkward, but neither of them really knew what to say to one another. Tord just wanted to feel comfortable more than anything at that moment, but that was DEFINITELY not happening. Tom, on the other hand, wanted to get out there and take care of Tord's boss immediately. However, he knew that the Norwegian needed someone to help him cope without alcohol.

Tord looked down to his lap, fumbling with his hands. Tom glanced at him, thinking to himself for a moment before breaking the silence. "Do... you need anything?" He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling pretty useless at the moment. Tord shook his head, sliding down a little. Tom sighed and got up. "Well, I'm getting water. I'll be right back."

Tord nodded silently, letting him leave. His nerves had calmed at this point, but only to let his thoughts fester. Memories of what happened earlier that night were at the front of his mind, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push them away. The boring movie they had on was not helping in the slightest. The urge to just go to his room and drink himself to sleep gnawed at him persistently. Within minutes he gave in and started to get up.

Right on time, however, Tom walked back into the room. He carried a bowl and the promised water. Tord slowly got back into place, raising an eyebrow at the bowl. "What's that...?" Tom smiled slightly as he took a seat and held it out to Tord. He hesitantly took it, getting a good look at it.

It looked like an unholy amalgamation of every soft or sweet thing they had: ice cream, marshmallow twists, berries, and peach rings to name a few. Slowly, a bright smile spread onto the previously sullen face. He looked up at Tom, who seemed ecstatic at Tord's reaction. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," He said as he popped a spoon in the bowl and sat down next to him. "Oh, and don't forget your water." He shook the cup slightly.

"I won't..." Tord looked into the bowl, still smiling. "I really appreciate it, but you know you don't have to coddle me, right?" Tom's smile turned slightly awkward.

"Yeeeah, I know, but I want you to be happy." Tord's face flushed slightly when he heard that. There was a moment of silence where Tom worried he said too much, but soon enough...

"... Simp." The pajama’d man gave a goofy smirk. The "simp" snorted and shook his head.

"I am NOT a simp," he retorted playfully.

"Exactly what a simp would say."

"I'm not a simp!" his voice cracked making Tord burst out laughing. Tom huffed, but underneath his baby-rage façade, he was just glad he could make the other happy right now. "Shut up and eat your garbage." The laughter died down to small giggles.

"Will do, sergeant puberty." He started eating his extremely unhealthy Frankenstein's monster.

"That's not even clever. You can do better." Tom rolled his eyes.

"Don't have to," Tord said through a mouthful of "food". Technically, he was right. The blue hooded man sat back grabbing the remote.

"Yeah, whatever. This movie's boring as hell. Mind if I change it?" Without waiting for a response, he proceeded to change it. Tord shrugged. Tom put on some stupid comedy movie.

Tord stared into his bowl with a very faint smile on his lips. He never thought Tom cared for him, but now that he's thinking of it, Tom has been doing a lot of cute little things for him. Of course, trying to play it off like he doesn't care. How... odd.

About thirty minutes into the movie, the Norwegian had finished his behemoth of sugar. Meanwhile, Tom was getting impatient. He wanted to get out there, so he began to get up. However, he felt a hand grab his wrist as he did. He looked back and met Tord's eyes. He looked curious, even tilting his head slightly. There was a moment of silence as Tom had no clue what to say.

"... I... uh- I just remembered I have something to do," he said. God, that was an awful excuse. He looked very unimpressed as he narrowed his silver eyes.

"Right... and that is?"

**OKAY, GUYS, I KNOW IT’S AN AMATEUR WRITER MOVE, BUT I’M SWITCHING TO FIRST PERSON OMNISCIENT(in Tom’s POV) BECAUSE THE PRONOUN CONFUSION AND SYNECDOCHE ARE ANNOYING OKAY BACK TO THE STORY AAAAAAAAAAA-**

Fuck. I needed to find a way out of this situation  _ quickly.  _ “... What are you, my mother?”  _ Nailed it.  _ “I have to do something personal. I’ll be back in a bit. Hang out with Matt or Edd while I’m gone though.” Tord groaned.

“Do I  _ have  _ to? They’re gonna question things!”

“Yes,” I responded plainly.

“Fiiiiine,” he huffed, sitting up. I rolled my eyes(which of course wasn’t visible to him) and stood up.

“See you whenever,” I said as I left the room. From that point on, I was a man on a very particular mission: kill the fucker who thinks it’s okay to abuse vulnerable groups. On my way out of the house, I knocked on Matt’s door. I heard scrambling and crashing, followed by a short silence before the door creaked open.

“Uh, what’s up?” Matt asked. His drawing glove was still on, so he’d clearly just been animating. He likes to animate with the tablet in his lap.

“Tord’s high risk right now. You’re better at this than I am and I have to go. He’s in my room,” I summarized. He immediately knew what I meant. Tord was a volatile alcoholic with a tendency to drink his problems away. On top of that, many times when he’s drunk he tends to favor self-destructive and dangerous behaviors. Nobody wins when Tord drinks. Matt nodded and I continued on my way.

“But where are you going?” He yelled after me as I opened the front door.

“Out,” I said, closing the door behind me. As I made my way down the street, electing to walk, I began constructing a plan.

  
  


I soon found myself approaching the club. I took a deep breath and composed myself before walking in. I couldn’t afford to lose my shit and be sloppy right now. Very quickly, I was approached by one of the dancers that spotted me. She was very much in my personal space. She began talking to me, however, all I picked up on is that she had an American accent. “Hey, baby. You look lonely. People say I’m good company... if you’d have me.”

“Yep. Uhuh. I’m actually looking for your boss if you don’t mind,” I said, taking a healthy step away. She pointed to a door by the bar with a tough-guy type standing in front of it.

“If you ever change your mind, I’m here,” she smiled slyly.

“Trust me, you’d need therapy after being my company,” I muttered and headed over to the door. The man at the door straightened his posture, asserting himself. I looked him over for a quick second before spotting a familiar little symbol pinned to the side of his belt. Ah, a sympathizer.

“You’re going to want to let me through…” I said, my voice calm as the night. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“Why’s that?” He questioned. Like second nature, I pulled out a card, handing it to him.

“Take your time inspecting it. I have all night,” I said, waiting patiently. After a few moments of looking at it in the dim light of the establishment, I saw his eyes widen. And there it is. He immediately stepped aside, handing my badge back.

“G-go right ahead,” he stuttered slightly. God, I loved doing that. I went through the door. The room I entered into was an interesting one. It was full of lounge chairs and smelled of cigar smoke, eating into my own temptations. The carpet below my feet was red velvet, however, I noticed a more reddish-brown splotch on the carpet- blood. I gritted my teeth slightly before internally reminding myself to chill out. In the corner of the room in one of the lounge chairs sat a truly horrible-looking man. His greasy brown hair was pulled back into a rat’s tail as some shitty attempt at looking intimidating. He wore a chain necklace and a black button-up that had far too many buttons undone. He was extremely thin, and by the looks of it, it was due to the drugs. I noticed his gnarled teeth as he began to speak.

“Alright, who the bloody hell are you?” he asked with far too much confidence for my taste. He had some form of bastardized English accent I couldn’t quite place.

“Oh, yes, introductions. I’m Tom. I’d give you my life story, but I have a feeling you aren’t looking for that. To summarize, I’m a potential investor,” I said with a sly smile. His posture and attitude quickly shifted.

“An investor! Good to have you in, then! What do you think of my lovely business?” 

“It’s great so far. Just wanted to know a bit more about the owner before I settled my decision.”

“Of course, of course. Come! Take a seat,” he gestured to the seat across from him. I gave him a nod before doing so. I could’ve killed him at any moment, but I needed to know a few things first. “Do you smoke?” He nodded to the box of cigars on the table beside him.

“I’d be delighted to,” I said as I took one, pulling out my own lighter. “So, you’re in charge here, yeah?” He grinned proudly.

“That’s right, I am.”

“Mmh, I see,” I took a puff of the cigar, nearly gagging at the taste. It was a god awful brand. I suffered through it. “And what about the second person in charge after you?”

“Second person? It’s only me, mate. I don’t need no other bloke making a mess of things,” he said sourly.

“Really? But who would take charge if something were to happen to you?” I asked with interest.

“Nothin’s gonna happen to me,” he laughed. I tapped my fingers in bored silence. He paused for a moment before quickly continuing. “But, ah, say somethin’ were to happen, I guess control would go to Yvette. She’s the dancer that handles all the schedules and such.”

“A dancer? You must have a lot of trust in them for that.” He let out a laugh.

“Trust? Naw, mate. If it’s just between you an’ me, I just want less people on the payroll.” Cheapskate asshole.

“Oh, very clever,” That was really all I needed to know, but my curiosity was beginning to get the better of me, so I pressed on. “ Mind if I ask a few questions about the dancers, then?”

“Not much to say there, really. But if you have to,” he said disdainfully. I chuckled slightly.

“Well, I recently heard about one of your male dancers leaving during a performance. Ahm, what was his name,” I snapped my fingers quickly trying to remember Tord’s stage name.

“Oh.  _ Him.  _ Don’t you worry about that one. I put ‘im right back in his place.”

“Oh, really?” my heart rate began to rise, “Do tell.”

“Well, I don’t know if I should, but you seem like the type of bloke who gets it,” he said, sounding almost like he was about to… brag.

“Of course I am. Go on, I insist,” my lip twitched slightly in my smile.

“You should have seen the look on this fairy boy’s face. He looked like a kicked puppy! He kept on apologizin’ to me, but it’s not like saying he’s ‘sorry’ is going to give me all the money he made me lose. But y’know, it did make me feel better, hearin’ his stupid little cries when I kicked him,” I knew I shouldn’t have kept questioning him. My fingers that were once tapping idly on my knee were now digging into my palm. “All the other dancers are quiet, but THIS ONE! He can really--” Within a split second, the man and his chair were tumbling to the ground and I had fresh blood on my knuckles.

“You should really learn when to shut your fucking mouth,” I put my foot over his chest, keeping him on the ground.

“H-hey! What-” I dug my heel into him, stopping him from speaking.

“Ah, ah. I said shut. Don’t try to fight back, I could end you in a second,” I hissed before pulling out a phone and hitting one of the top contacts. The line picked up immediately. Being the show-off that I am, I put it on speaker.

“Sir?” someone on the other end of the line asked.

“Yeah, I have a cleanup job that needs doing as quickly and discreetly as possible. I'll send you the address," I took one of my guns out. This one was a silenced handgun. Fun trivia: most people who only see guns with silencers in shitty spy movies think that they truly are silent, or even nearly silent, but a more accurate name is "suppressor". It helps to minimize sound, but there's never truly enough to silence it. However, given that just outside was a club with blaring music, a suppressor would do perfectly fine.

"H-help me!" The coward under my boot pleaded. I was guessing he was talking to the person on the other end of the line. Hilarious. I took my foot off his chest only to kick him directly in the face. He let out a yell.

"I'd wait for a team, but this one's irritating me. I trust you can take care of it. That will be all," I sighed. "Lucky you," I sneered at the man.

"Right, Blue Leader, sir," they said before hanging up. I clicked the safety switch on the gun, taking my time. His eyes were wide as I checked the magazine before cooking my gun.

"W-wait! Blue Lea-" He had no time to finish his sentence as I emptied the chamber directly into his skull.


End file.
